News about Radio Jarocho

After a long while of not reporting news about Radio Jarocho, here we are again, giving you the latest about this wonderful son jarocho band. The cd that we just released has brought us plenty of attention and more than one gig. Only three weeks ago, we had a "school series." We performed at Puente Highschool in Brooklyn, at Rutgers University in New Jersey and at Columbia University in Manhattan. All of these presentations were related to Día de Muertos and we were more than happy to share our music with the Mexican and Latino communities. Sadly, these performances occurred once our friend and requintero Carlos Salazar moved back to Austin, Texas, where he is from. We are definitely going to miss him!

In all the time we didn't post on this blog, many things happened. Radio Jarocho performed at the Mexican Embassy in Washington D.C. for Independence Day celebration, which we've heard, was broadcast on national TV in Mexico. For that gig, our dear friend Alec Dempster played with us and brought some of his wonderful art to show. Check his catalog at http://www.alecdempster.com/index.html. When Alec was still here, we were invited to play at the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian as part of the festival Celebrate Mexico Now! It was one of our best performances yet.

Please check out the latest edition of the blog Daniel en Nueva York where Radio Jarocho is featured playing "El Torito Jarocho" at Terraza Cafe. Also, you can now buy Radio Jarocho's music on iTunes. Pretty exciting business!

If you have been missing the fandango, here are two opportunities for you to come join us in our celebration: we will be performing at Barbés on November 19 at 8:00 p.m. and at Camaradas del Barrio on December 18th at 10:00 p.m. So, keep logging on and enjoying the music from the Sotavento!

CD-Relase Party at Terraza Cafe in Queens

Welcome to the first cd-release party of Radio Jarocho! We got together last Saturday at Cafe Terraza in Queens to celebrate our new album. Maestro Arturo Castillo was there, as well as our friends from the Aztec dance ensemble Atlachinolli. The gig started at around 10:30 and went on until 1:00 am. We began by playing the sones included in the album: Siquisirí, Bamba, Colás, Aguanieves, Zapateado and Cascabel. After having officially presented the album, we began the fandango, for which we played Guacamaya, La Morena, and Chuchumbé, among others. In between the sones, Arturo Castillo delighted us with some of his décimas, one of which was especially dedicated to Radio Jarocho and all its members. It was a décima written for our event, which is a great honor.

The jarocho section of the fandango went on for about an hour and a half, and then the huapango started. Gabriel, Juan and Juan Carlos played de violin, the jarana huasteca and the huapanguera respectively, and they all sang. Arturo Castillo also sang and improvised some décimas and Gabriel did not fall behind, and gave us some of his spicy improvs as well. Our good friend Sergio R. Reyes was there to take some photos, Carin Zissis did not bring her camera this time, but she has also taken quite a few shots of us soneros jarochos in New York. Some of the members of Atlachinolli danced in the fandango, and we were able to enjoy all of our friends' company in this wonderful event.

As we have announced before, our cd-release tour will include the five boroughs in New York City. Our next stop will be Manhattan in September, Staten Island in October, and the Bronx at the end of the summer. Jalopy Theater in Brooklyn will host us for that section of the tour, but we have yet to define the date. Keep coming back to this blog to learn more about what we are doing at Radio Jarocho!

The making of Radio Jarocho video (all photos by Enrique González)

Last Tuesday we recorded our first two videos, for Colás and Siquisirí. It was an interesting learning experience. Marvelous Josh Weinstein shot both videos and we all had fun doing it. We shot Colás on the roof of our good friend Enrique González (who also took all these great photographs) and Siquisirí we did on Minetta Street, in the West Village. After having had rain in NY almost every day for the last month, we were surprised and delighted that the weather was so incredible on the day of the shoot. Rain would have ruined everything!

It is not easy to shoot a video: the pressure of the camera, having to repeat the song over and over, and dealing with curious people on the street, made us appreciate how much work and concentration we have to put on every single thing that we do as a band. We will let our fans know as soon as the video is ready. In the meantime, let's keep on fandangueando and get ready to celebrate at the cd-release party tonight!

Getting ready to party

Today we rehearsed for our cd-release party on Saturday. The whole band was there, plus Arturo Castillo, the famous decimero from la Huasteca. Our gig in Queens promises to be really great. We are going to present the numbers included on the cd and some other classics. Also, the great Castillo will delight us with some decimas combined with zapateado.

We have really come a long way by releasing our album, shooting our video (which will be ready in a few weeks), and getting ready to participate in some of the September festivals (Celebrate Mexico Now! among others). It is wonderful to be able to bring a little bit of Veracruz to New York and to show the Mexican community here that the tradition never dies.

The maestro Castillo said last Saturday, at his book-release party ("Así me pinta la aurora"), that it not only a pleasure to support and encourage the continuation of our cultural heritage, but it is also a responsibility for all Mexicans. "Even if you're home alone," he said "you should write, sing, dance or make music that celebrates our traditions." In Radio Jarocho, we entirely agree with maestro Castillo. We need to maintain that tradition not only for our pleasure and growth, but also for the generations of Mexicans that will be born in the US and will not have Mexican cultural expressions readily accesible. Radio Jarocho takes that responsibility very seriously. Thank you, Arturo Castillo, for reminding us that playing music is not only about aesthetic pleasure, but also about maintaining our Mexican heritage.

Radio Jarocho

Formerly known as Semilla, Radio Jarocho is the continuation of the only New York City-based project devoted entirely to the son jarocho and fandango traditions from southern Veracruz, Mexico.The group has performed in notable events dedicated to Mexican and Latin American folk arts in the state of New York and Washington D.C. These include: Celebrate Mexico Now! Brooklyn Folk Music Festival, National Geographic's All Roads Film Festival, Lincoln Center's La Casita and Brooklyn Botanical Garden's Chili Fest, where they shared the bill with folk music legend, Pete Seeger. With their old moniker they have also performed in clubs like Banjo Jim's and Jalopy Theater. As part of the artist's roster in organizations like Brooklyn Arts Council, Mano a Mano, City Lore, and the Americas Society, they have promoted son jarocho in public schools and community events throughout the five boroughs of New York City. Radio Jarocho is committed to extending their research within the array of influences that have permeated this genre of Mexican music for nearly 300 years, and to bring its exciting and joyful sounds everywhere they go. The group's first recording: Radio Jarocho, produced by Gabriel Guzman and Carlos Salazar and recorded at the Cutting Room in New York City, will be available on June 27th.

Son Jarocho is the rich traditional music and dance from the coastal state of Veracruz, Mexico. This genre has its roots in Spanish secular music from the colonial period and an ethnic mixture of Afro-Caribbean and Mexican Indian elements. This mix is not surprising considering that the city-port of Veracruz has been a gateway to Mexico and Latin America since the sixteenth century.

The Band
Gabriel Guzman: jarana, harp; Juan Lucero: guitarra de son; Cecilia Ortega: dancer; Julia del Palacio: dancer; Carlos Marin: marimbol; Carlos Salazar: guitarra de son.